A widely-circulated claims people are checking into emergency rooms with fungal lung infections due to wearing masks to prevent COVID-19.
鈥淧eople are starting to enter ERs with fungal lung infections from wearing masks!! Take breaks from your masks.鈥�
The claim, posted on July 2, had been shared 16,000 times and viewed nearly 700,000 times over the past 24 hours.
It was flagged as part of Facebook鈥檚 efforts to combat false news and misinformation on its News Feed. (Read more about PolitiFact California鈥檚 with Facebook).
With more states requiring face coverings in public settings, and lots of false claims spreading about masks, we wanted to know whether there鈥檚 any truth to this provocative statement.
We set out on a fact check.
Misinformation About Masks
This is far from the first social media post to claim that wearing masks is harmful to your health. In June, PolitiFact National the multi-part allegation that claimed wearing masks for the coronavirus "decreases oxygen intake, increases toxin inhalation, shuts down immune system鈥� and 鈥渋ncreases virus risk.鈥� It rated the claim False.
In May, PolitiFact rated a similar claim that wearing a mask causes health problems, particularly from breathing in too much exhaled carbon dioxide.
It found there鈥檚 no credible data to back that up. 鈥淓xperts say prolonged use of N95 respirator masks can increase blood CO2 levels for people with breathing problems, but those masks are not recommended for the general public, and using ordinary cloth or surgical masks poses little or no risk from CO2,鈥� PolitiFact reported.
Fungal Infections?
With those fact checks in mind, we examined whether people are truly showing up at ERs with fungal lung infections due to wearing masks. We reached out to regional, statewide and national experts and found no supporting evidence.
鈥淣either the chair of our emergency department nor the head of our infectious diseases division have seen that type of condition in a patient after an individual has been using a face mask,鈥� a spokesperson for UC Davis Health in Sacramento wrote in an email.
After looking into the claim, Elena Lopez-Gusman, executive director of the California chapter of the American College of Emergency Physicians, called it 鈥渁s suspected, false.鈥�
Finally, the national American College of Emergency Physicians told us they鈥檝e seen no evidence supporting the claim.
鈥淲hile we鈥檝e heard some folks complain about irritation, we have not heard of reports of fungal infections stemming from masks,鈥� Maggie McGillick, a spokesperson for ACEP wrote in an email. 鈥淭here are several professions where people wear masks for hours on end without issue.鈥�
The College released a last week encouraging people to cover their face when in public.
鈥楻ecycled breathing鈥� not a real danger
Taking a closer look at the Facebook post in question, some commenters wondered whether wearing a mask for hours on end might be harmful, while wearing it for just a short while might not be.
In an email, McGillick of ACEP addressed that concern: 鈥淭here is not a real danger to breathing in your own air or 鈥榬ecycled breathing,鈥� nor is the idea of low oxygen or carbon dioxide buildup a concern. However, there could be risk from someone鈥檚 mask getting contaminated from others and then transferring that to your mouth/eyes/etc. when you touch your own mask.鈥�
The spokesperson stressed that it鈥檚 important to avoid touching your face and to wash your hands before and after touching your mask.
Some commenters on the Facebook post in question said they worried about the health effects of wearing masks. Yet others said they were skeptical of the claim given that doctors, nurses, mechanics and others wear masks for a prolonged period and don鈥檛 come down with fungal lung infections.
One medical professional jumped into the comments with her own fact check: 鈥淚t isn鈥檛 happening. I鈥檓 an ER nurse. This is not true at all.鈥�
Sanitary Tips For Mask Wearing
Earlier this month, the health information website fact-checked a similar claim and found there 鈥渋s no evidence indicating that masks increase the wearer鈥檚 risk of developing pneumonia or other bacterial, viral, or fungal lung infections.鈥�
It also included guidance from leading health organizations for how to safely handle your mask. It found the 鈥渢hat if a person wears the same mask for a long time, microorganisms may grow on the fabric.鈥�
鈥淎ll masks should be changed if wet or visibly soiled; a wet mask should not be worn for an extended period of time. ... Either discard the mask or place it in a sealable bag where it is kept until it can be washed and cleaned,鈥� the advises.
The recommends 鈥渢hat a person removes the face covering once they return home and washes it before using it again,鈥� the MedicalNewsToday article also noted.
Our ruling
A popular alleges people are checking into ERs with fungal lung infections due to wearing masks to prevent the coronavirus.
Regional, statewide and national emergency physicians groups said there鈥檚 no evidence to back up this claim.
Medical experts recommend wearing face coverings to slow the transmission of COVID-19 and say the effects of wearing the coverings are not harmful.
They also encourage people to wash their hands and their masks on a regular basis to avoid contamination.
This claim about mask-wearing leading to fungal lung infections is bogus.
We rated it False.
FALSE 鈥� The statement is not accurate.
Source List:
July 2, 2020
Elena Lopez-Gusman, executive director, California chapter of the American College of Emergency Physicians, email interview July 6, 2020
Maggie McGillick, spokesperson, American College of Emergency Physicians, email interview July 6, 2020
Charles Casey, spokesperson, UC Davis Health, email interview July 6, 2020
PolitiFact, , June 12, 2020
PolitiFact, , May 19, 2020
Associated Press, , June 26, 2020
Daily Herald, , July 6, 2020
MedicalNewsToday, , July 3, 2020
World Health Organization, , June 5, 2020
U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, , updated July 6, 2020
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